Definition shuffle tracking is a blackjack strategy with which the gambler keeps track of cards or series of cards during shuffles. These series of cards are called 'clumps' so shuffle tracking may also be called card clump tracking. It is an advantage gambling technique that derives from card counting. Shuffle tracking works best in multiple deck games, especially the 6-8 deck shoe games. Theory The premise behind shuffle tracking is that the location of cards in a shoe can to some degree be predicted. It can be predicted because according to the theory, shuffling is not quite as random or thorough as the casinos want us to think. Shuffling Decks In all card games, the decks are regularly shuffled to change the order of the cards. But the reality is that casino dealers do not have the time to shuffle the decks that well. It's not that they can't; they can. But to do so every time would take too much time, time that could otherwise be spent playing games and taking bets from players. Thus, longer shuffling = lower profits. No casino wants that. So instead, the casino instructs its dealers to shuffle quickly using the casino's shuffling guidelines. Shuffling methods vary in style and thoroughness, meaning some mix up the cards more than others. As you may imagine, it is easier to track cards when the shuffles are simple than when they are complex. So it is the simpler shuffles that advantage players prefer. Simple shuffles can be found in 6-8 deck shoe games, where it would take too long to shuffle the multiple decks thoroughly. Shuffle Tracking Basics Shuffle tracking begins with card counting. In blackjack, high cards -the 10's and aces - are better for the player since they give more blackjacks and higher scores. Low cards are better for the dealer since they prevent busting and fewer blackjacks are paid to the player. Card counting tells the gambler when there are more high or low cards left in the shoe as the game progresses. Usually, each low card dealt is given a positive value and a high card a negative value. When the total count gets high, it means most cards left in the shoe are high cards; the opposite is true if the total count is low. Using the simple Hi/Lo system, if the shuffle comes when the count is -5, we know that the cards left at cutoff total +5 (since the Hi/Lo always totals the deck at 0). That means the remaining cards before cutoff were mostly low cards. As the cards are shuffled, one can track this clump during the cutting and shuffling. When you know that +5 clump is near, you know it's mostly low cards. The odds favor the dealer then and you should bet small. If it was a negative clump instead, it would be high cards and you'd bet bigger. Shuffle tracking lets you predict when portions of a shoe will come up so you can adjust your strategy as needed. Shuffle tracking also lets you put certain cards out of play when you get to cut the decks. Note: In shuffle tracking, you want to see more high cards than low cards—the opposite of card counting! Why? Because in card counting, you count the discarded cards; in shuffle tracking, you keep track of cards not yet played. You want to see low cards discarded, and you want to see high cards dealt. Get it? |
Shuffle tracking is something used by some advantage players
while playing blackjack or other casino table games. These
players try to track how the cards are put into the discard tray
and shuffled so they can predict the next cards to be dealt
after a shuffle.
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At a very basic level shuffle tracking works like this:
If you open a new pack of playing cards, split it perfectly
in half for two stacks of 26 cards, and shuffle it perfectly,
you can accurately predict the order of cards. If you split it
into two 26 card stacks and shuffle it perfectly again you can
determine the order of cards again.
As long as you know how the cards started, the cards are
split into two 26 card stacks, and they’re shuffled perfectly,
you can determine the order of the cards.
Even a perfect situation like the one we just described has a
variable though. You need to know which stack has the first card
land on the bottom to make an accurate prediction. But after you
see the first few cards off the top of the new shuffle you can
determine which of the two deck halves started the stack.
If you’re playing a casino table game like blackjack and you
know the order of the cards do you think you can win? It’d be
like playing with all of the cards face up. You’d always know
what the dealer has and what cards are coming next, so you could
bet big when you’re going to win and bet small when you’re going
to lose.
Of course real life creates all kinds of issues with tracking
a shuffle. Even if the dealer is hand shuffling a single deck
they rarely have two stacks of 26 cards and almost never make a
perfect shuffle where exactly one card from each stack lands on
the final stack in an every other card order.
But some players are able to track certain cards or clusters
of cards through a shuffle well enough to gain an advantage
against the casino. But shuffle tracking is one of the hardest
skills to master for advantage players, so many who attempt to
do it end up losing money instead of making it.
Hand Dealt Games and Automatic Shuffling Machines
Games that are shuffled by hand are difficult to track, but
many dealers are lazy enough that they don’t shuffle well or
shuffle enough times, so it’s possible to find profitable
situations. But what about games that use an automatic shuffling
machine? Can they be tracked?
This is the only area on the page where we move from
verifiable information to conjecture. A few players claim
they’ve been able to get their hands on an automatic shuffling
machine and learn how it works well enough to track a shuffle
through it. We can’t verify this is true, but a mechanical
machine has to operate in a set way over and over again, so it
sounds like it’s possible.
But the bottom line is most players don’t even try to use
shuffle tracking in games with an automatic shuffling machine.
So if you want to explore this advantage play focus on being
a master at the hand shuffled games before attempting to
transfer your skills over to an automatic machine. You may be
able to do it, but it can be a costly learning curve while
you’re trying.
And if you want to try to beat the automatic machines you
need to figure out how to get your hands on one or more of them
so you can determine how they work. This may sound simple, but
the companies that make the machines are smart enough to protect
their designs so getting one can be quite difficult.
Is Shuffle Tracking Profitable?
If you learn how to do it well and are able to adjust the
size of your bets when a group or slug of high cards is coming
then shuffle tracking can be profitable. But if you misjudge
where the set of high cards is and raise your bets at the wrong
time you’ll end up losing more than if you simply flat bet and
use basic strategy.
The bottom line is if you can do it well shuffle tracking can
be more profitable than card counting and many other advantage
play methods. But doing it well takes a great deal of practice
and work and can cost you a great deal of money, so the long
term profit comes with a real price.
One area where normal players don’t recognize a chance to
reduce the house edge when using shuffle tracking is insurance
at the blackjack table. You may know that when you’re using
basic strategy that insurance is never a good bet. But if you
know you’re in the middle of a group of face cards and the
dealer has an ace showing it can be profitable to take
insurance.
The insurance bet is basically a bet that the dealer’s down
card is a 10 valued card or not and pays 2 to 1. If the odds are
better than this that the dealer has a 10 valued card it’s a
good bet. In a situation where the down card is random the odds
are worse than 2 to 1, but if you know that the odds of a 10
value down card is higher because of tracking the shuffle you
can take insurance.
Can You Do It?
Shuffle tracking is one of the hardest advantage play methods
used by casino players. It’s more difficult than counting cards
and few people ever truly master it. But the only way you can
find out if you’re able to do it is by giving it a try.
Even if you aren’t able to use shuffle tracking like the
professional advantage players you may still be able to use the
same basics to get a quick advantage from time to time.
Blackjack Tracker Knife Reviews
If you’re playing in a single or double deck hand shuffled
blackjack game and one round of cards has three aces, seven face
cards, and only two low cards you should watch how they’re
placed in the discard tray. Let’s say one of the cards is the
ace of diamonds and it gets placed on the top of the discard
stack with the other 11 cards we just descried directly below
it.
Unless the dealer does a strong job of shuffling you can
expect this group of face cards and aces to come out of the deck
shortly after the ace of diamonds. Simply by knowing more high
cards are coming than low ones gives you an edge over the house,
so you can raise your bets.
As you get better at recognizing situations like this you’ll
be able to start tracking two or three cards at a time. In the
previous example you might see the ace of diamonds is on top,
the next card is he king of spades, and the third card down is
the jack of hearts. This gives you even more information to work
with.
You can also attempt to track a slug of cards like the one
just described through the shuffle. If you know roughly where
the slug of high cards is located you can cut the cards so
they’re at the top of the deck. This way you can bet big off the
top of the deal and either reduce your bets or quit paying after
the high card slug is gone.
So even if learning to be a full fledged shuffle tracker is
too hard for many players, if you pay attention and are always
on the lookout for an advantage you can use shuffle tracking
techniques to gain an edge from time to time.
The nice thing about a game like blackjack, that offers a
house edge as low as a half percent with good rules and proper
strategy, is you don’t need to find a small edge too often to
break even against the house.
Blackjack Tracker
You play blackjack at $20 a hand most of the time but are
always watching for the chance to track a slug of high cards
like we described in the last example. When you find a situation
with a profitable slug or string of cards you bet $100 per hand.
You’re playing in a game with good rules and you always use
perfect strategy so the house edge is a half percent during
normal play. When you recognize an advantage and play at $100
per hand you have a 2% edge over the house.
You might think that a 2% edge over the house is high in
these situations, but if you do a good job recognizing these
situations it can be much higher than this.
Out of every 100 hands you play, do you know how many you
need to play with an advantage to break even?
100 hands at $20 per hand with a loss of a half percent means
you lose $10. His basically means you lose 10 cents per hand on
average. Every hand where you bet $100 with a 2% house edge wins
$2 on average. This means that if you can find one hand out of
every 20 on average with an advantage you’ll be able to break
even in the long run playing blackjack.
Over the short term your results will vary quite a bit, but
if you understand the math and are able to grab a profitable
situation from time to time it’ll help your bankroll
considerably.
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Other Advantage Play Methods to Consider
Casino players have been trying to figure out ways to beat
the casinos for as long as casinos have been operating. Methods
range from outright cheating to using your brain power to
legitimately beat the house. Here are a couple other real ways
that players have found to beat the casinos other than shuffle
tracking.
Card Counting
By keeping track of the ratio of high cards to low cards
players can predict when the remaining cards have more high
cards than low cards. By raising your bets when the deck is rich
in high cards you have a chance to overcome the house edge and
play with an advantage.
Counting cards isn’t as hard as it sounds. You don’t have to
keep track of every single card, just the ratio of high to low
ones. This is done by adding and subtracting a number, usually
one, from a running count as you see cards. You can learn more
about counting cards on our main card counting page.
Hole Card Play
Some casino dealers are sloppy and flash the value of their
down cards to players sitting at certain seats at the table.
This means that sometimes you might be able to see the dealer’s
down card while playing blackjack. Or if you play a game like
Let It Ride you might be able to see the value of one or more of
the down cards used to make your final hand.
This can be quite profitable, but it’s difficult to find
these dealers. Most players don’t pay enough attention to spot a
sloppy dealer, but if you’re always on the lookout for one
you’ll run across one from time to time.
Conclusion
While it should be clear after reading this page about
shuffle tracking that it isn’t for everyone, you should also
realize that you don’t have to be a full fledged shuffle tracker
or advantage player to be able to see a situation where you can
decrease the house edge from time to time.
Keep your eyes open and see if you can track a slug of high
cards and aces through a shuffle the next time you play
blackjack. You might find it’s easier than it sounds. And even
if it isn’t easy, you may find that with a little practice
you’re able to predict a big win every once in a while.